Macdonough Runners to Race in Middletown

Members of the Macdonough School Running Club will be competing in ninth annual Middlesex Community College Foundation $cholarship 5K Road Race scheduled for Saturday, October 29th at Middlesex Community College.

The 3.1 mile course is a scenic out and back route with several small rolling hills and a downhill finish in the reservoir area near the MxCC campus. Entertainment for runners and their families will be provided by the Pratt & Whitney Screamin’ Eagles Jazz Band

Guest Reader

Mrs. Lenihan's class had a guest reader from first grade. Brian was the SURFS winner for his class and picked to read in kindergarten. He read "Where is my Mummy?" to the class. What a great story!

Free Book Thursday

Kindergartners are thrilled with free book Thursdays. Our Weslyan volunteer fills the children's book bags with books for children to keep and read at home.

Pumpkin Pumpkin

Ms. Grossman's class carved their pumpkin. The children enjoyed putting their hands into the pumpkin!

Mrs. Lenihan's class carved their very own pumpkin today! Everyone in the class was able to give a helping hand. The result was a spooky jack-o-latern!

Pumpkin Pumpkin

Mrs. Spaman's class had Mr. Nat carve their pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern. Each student had a chance to put their hands in the pumpkin.

4th Grade Fieldtrip to Wesleyan Arts Center!

4th Graders went on a fieldtrip to Wesleyan University's Art Center to see different types of music styles and artwork, such as the Gamelan and Silk Embroidering, which they have learned about in art class this year.

The first place they visited was the World Music Hall. Here they are having fun making their own music!

Then they went to the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies and the Davison Art Center.

 

At Freeman, they saw detailed embroideries of landscapes, leaves, and more.

 

Here they are learning about printmaking!

 

Here they are making their own works of art!


 

At Davison, they saw the prints of of Julie Mehretu, which were on display.



 



It was a very informative and creative trip!



Scholar's Academy Begins

Scholar's Academy has begun for some of our 2nd and 3rd grade students. Our dedicated students are coming in twice a week at 8:00 in the morning for extra special reading and writing support. On Fridays, the computer lab will be open for these students to strengthen their computer skills. Congratulations to these scholars!

SURFS Up at Macdonough School!

Dozens of parents and friends joined us to honor members of our learning community at the October SURFS Up Celebration. The celebration was hosted by our fourth grade students who entertained us with a singing of the school song and amazed us with their learning during a Jeopardy style presentation.

Students were recognized for summer reading, participating in the ING Hartford Marathon, and their work in Mrs. Kaye's art class.  Classes were recognized with "Golden Awards" for their SURFS Up behaviors in special subject classes.  Miss Grossman's class won three of the awards this month!

Several students from each class were also recognized as the SURFS Up honorees. These children demonstrated Self-Responsibility, Understanding, Respect, Fairness, and Safety throughout the month. The families of these SURFS Up winners were also honored!

Kindergarten visits Rose's Berry Farm!

Kindergarten had a field trip to Rose's Berry Farm. Kindergarteners got to ride through the farm on a hay ride. Each student picked their own pumpkin to take home! The teachers even got to pick a BIG pumpkin to go in their classroom to share. Be sure to stop by and see the pumpkins in each classroom!

Macdonough Runs in the ING Hartford Marathon!

Many Macdonough students and faculty participated in Saturday's ING Hartford Marathon. Runner's ran anywhere from 2 miles to the full half marathon (13.1 miles!). Boys and girls from the third, fourth, and fifth grade classes all took part in the race. About 16 Madonough teachers participated and ran a total of 121 miles combined! The perfect fall weather and fun atmosphere made it a morning to remember. Congratulations to all who participated!

New Custodian Joins Macdonough

We would like to introduce a new member of our custodial staff, John Giuliano. John is very excited to working at Macdonough. He is getting to know all of the students and staff, and is so far loving his time here. Welcome, John!

Fourth grade students attended a field trip to Bluff Point in Groton as part of BioBuddies, a program sponsored by LEARN. Children were taught about salt water ecology. The students participated in net dipping and caught many creatures including shrimp, snails, flounder, green crabs, spider crabs, and blue crabs.

Stop, Drop, and Roll

Kindergarten learned how to stop, drop and roll today. Students used felt as the fire and practiced. Don't forget to cover your face. Students also practice calling 911 on a toy phone. Students used their full name and address to tell the "operator" where they lived.

Kindergarten vists the Fire Station

Macdonough kindergarten students took a walking field trip to the Middletown Fire Department. They saw fire trucks, met fire fighters, and learned about fire safety!

Macdonough Marathon Team

On Saturday, a group of teachers, parents, and students will be traveling to Bushnell Park to join in the running of the 2011 ING Hartford Marathon as part of the Jeff’s Running Partners program. This program encourages children in Connecticut schools and adults to complete either the 13.1 mile Hartford Half Marathon or the full 26.2 Hartford Marathon as part of a relay team.

Teachers who will be running include Miss Antonucci, Miss Weindruch, Mrs. Raney, Miss Claffey, Mr. Nelson, Miss Erasmus, Miss McKenzie, Miss Lavoie, Miss DiBacco, Miss Maletta, Miss Caamano, Miss Grossman, Mrs. Paul, Mrs. Oszurek, and Mr. Ferrero. Added together, the Macdonough teachers will be running a total of nearly 100 miles!

ING Run for Something Better Day

Students from Macdonough School have been invited to participate in the 2011 ING Run for Something Better Day program at Bushnell Park in Hartford. The program is designed to encourage a healthy, active lifestyle in the fight against childhood obesity for elementary and middle school students.

This program encourages students to train to complete a half marathon, covering 13.1 miles in 6 weeks. On Friday October 14th, students who complete 12 miles through the school program will run their last 1.1 "Final Mile", cross over the official ING Hartford Marathon Finish Line, receive a Finisher's Medal and then enter the "World of Fitness” area.

 

Thanks to Mr. Nelson, Miss Weindruch, and Mrs. Paul for coordinating the event for our fifth grade students!
 

F&P Testing.....

October is here.... you know what that means!

Teachers and Interventionists have been submersed in Fountas & Pinnell testing.

Keep up the great work!

ABC in Kindergarten

Kindergartners have made it through the alphabet. Every day they learned a new letter and made a display for the classroom. They glued keys on for k, leaves for L, q-tips for q and tooth brush for t. The students also made a ABC book for their own to keep at home. Happy reading.

Breast Cancer Awareness!

In support of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Macdonough staff

teamed up wearing Pink shirts for the first Friday of October.

(Mr. Nelson, Salmon pants count too!)

In 2011, there will be 230,480 new cases of breast cancer in women.

There will be 2,140 new cases of breast cancer in men.

Today showed Macdonough's awareness and support

of those touched by breast cancer.

First Graders Visit the Farmer's Market

The two first grade classes took a nice walk today to the North End's Farmer's Market. The children were able to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from the vendors. Each child was able to take the home their nutritious purchases. When we got back to school, all of the students got to eat one of their snacks. The rest of the food will go home with them today! Thanks to everyone who helped make this trip possible for us!

World Record at Macdonough School

Children in  first grade at Macdonough School helped to break a world record by participating in the Jumpstart Read for the Record program!

Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, is an international campaign to bring children together with valued grownups in their lives to read the same book, on the same day, in communities all over the world. Today, youngsters from near and far broke the world record as nearly 1,000,000 readers shared Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney.

On this historic day, one amazing book was read aloud in classrooms, libraries, and homes from Japan to Germany, from Belgium to Brazil, to cities and rural communities across America and right here at Macdonough School!

3rd Grade Class Mentor

Ms. Waterman's class is lucky to have Police Chief McMahon back for a second year in a row as their class mentor. Chief McMahon comes in during the reading block to read with the kids. We're lucky to have such a great mentor.

Kindergarten Displays Fall

It feels like Fall in the kindergarten hallway. Next time you come into the building check out our new fall displays.